Trouble
by Everythingistaken
Summary: Jack is back - and as usual, brings a lot of trouble with him. This time his actions have brought immediate danger to his family and Sharon is there to pick up the pieces. Set in S5
1. Chapter 1

„So, how did you guys like the house you looked at today?" Rusty asked. He was sitting down at the table with Sharon and Andy, who both had the rare spare time to have dinner before midnight with him at home.  
Andy just shrugged his shoulders and between bites, Sharon said: "It wasn't exactly what we were looking for. I don't think you would have liked it either."  
"That's too bad", Rusty stated. He still didn't really understand, why the two even felt the need to move. Sure, it was a little more crowded with three adults in the condo, but they barely were home all at the same time anyhow and even when, it worked.  
"I know what you're thinking", Sharon sighted, "but I would prefer a place with at least one spear bedroom for when Ricky or Emily or anyone else comes by."  
Rusty nodded. Sure, until Andy moved in, her kids simply slept on the empty side of her bed. But clearly, that side wasn't empty anymore.  
They finished eating in comfortable silence and even though it was only 8:30pm when they were done, while putting the last plate into the dishwasher, Sharon said: "I think I'm gonna go to bed."  
"Sure. It was a long couple of days", Andy smiled sympathetically. It was true, they had caught a rough case and the entire team had been suffering from sleep deprivation. Sharon walked over to Rusty, who was still seated at the table, working on something on his laptop, and gently padded him on the shoulder for a moment.  
"Thank you for dinner", she said.  
"Of course", Rusty turned around shortly so that they could see each other in the eyes, "sleep well."  
Sharon hummed and just when she made her way to the bathroom, the doorbell rang.  
"Urgh", Sharon sighted loudly. Andy and Rusty looked at her questioning and she shrugged her shoulders, hinting, that she didn't know who it could be.  
Andy was concentrating on whatever he was watching on TV and Rusty was lost in whatever he was working on when they both were interrupted by Sharon hissing: "Oh my god." They turned around again so that they could see what she saw. It wasn't a pretty view.  
"JACK!" Sharon exclaimed.  
"I know, I'm sorry", Jack murmured. For a moment, nothing happened. Sharon kept staring at her ex-husband, while still holding on to the front door. Everyone else was obviously waiting for her to do something. Andy slowly got up and walked towards Sharon. He stood still about a meter behind his girlfriend.  
Finally, Sharon took a deep breath in: "You need to go to the hospital. Whatever happened to you, I don't think I want to get involved. Are you capable of getting yourself a taxi or do you need help with that?"  
Not only Andy and Rusty were surprised by her reaction, but also Jack. Sharon barely turned Jack away, not because she still had feelings for him, but because she didn't want to make things harder for Emily and Ricky.  
"I can't go to the hospital and I don't need a doctor. Sharon, I need you", Jack said quietly and then looked and Andy, "not as my wife. But as a cop and as the mother of my children."  
"Ex-Wife", Andy murmured annoyed.  
But Sharon didn't hear because her heart shad topped for a second before she hissed: "What do Ricky and Emily have to do with this?"  
She meant the bruises that were covering Jack's entire face and probably the rest of his body, the swelling of his right eye and nose, his dirty and ripped apart clothes.  
"I'll explain. Will you just please let me in?"  
Sharon turned around and looked at Andy and Rusty. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathed in and out deeply before stepping to the side so that Jack could enter their condo – which he did limping. Wordlessly Sharon got the first aid kid and motioned Jack to sit down on the armchair in the living room. She cleaned the cuts in his face rather ungently, well aware that Andy and Rusty were watching her every move. When she finished, Sharon asked with clenched teeth: "Are you sober these days or do you want painkillers?" She knew the answer even before Jack said anything.  
"I'll get them", Rusty offered and quickly got them from the bathroom.  
"Thank you, Rusty", Sharon thanked him when he handed Jack the pills and a glass of water.  
"Yeah, thanks", Jack murmured.  
"So?"  
Sharon sat down at the couch while Rusty and Andy stayed in the background, wanting to give the two some space but ready to jump in if Sharon needed.  
"So", Jack repeated, "I got into some trouble."  
"No kidding. Cut to the chase Jack, what do the kids have to do with you getting into a fight?"  
"I didn't get into a fight. I was attacked."  
Sharon tilted her head a little, pondering whether or not she should give her ex-husband the benefit of a doubt. She had been lied to too many times.  
"Look, I made a couple of bad decisions", Jack finally started to explain.  
"Your bad decisions don't happen to have anything to do with poker?"  
Jack looked at his hands: "Well, I was playing, but not even at high stakes."  
"I don't want to hear it, cut it short."  
Just years ago, in situations like these, Sharon would have reacted entirely different. She would have listened to his problems, thought about what she could do to help so that the kids would never have to hear about it. But not only was she truly exhausted and had been looking forward to hours of sleep all afternoon long, she was also more than done with Jack's dilemmas.  
"All you need to know is probably that I lent money from the wrong people for the wrong reasons."  
"And you can't pay it back", Sharon murmured and Jack shook his head.  
"Right."  
Sharon raised her eyebrows and gestured for him to keep talking.  
"The guy that gave me the money started threatening me because I can't pay him back. You are looking at the results of his threats."  
Sharon kept her eyes closed for a couple of seconds and shook her head. She had heard that story so many times from her ex-husband now, she knew it by heart.  
"I'm not going to give you the money. Your financial chaos has no longer anything to do with me."  
"I know. But this is different."  
"Different how?"  
"When they were done with me today, they threatened to go after Ricky and Emily if I don't get the money by next Friday."  
"That's in a week", Sharon murmured.  
"I'm well aware of that, thank you detective", Jack grunted.  
Sharon got up from the sofa and rubbed over her face with one hand.  
"How serious are these guys you are dealing with?"  
"Have you looked at my face?"  
Sharon looked at the beaten-up man with her Darth Raydor look.  
"How dare you? How dare you come here, beaten to a pulp, endangering my children due to your bullshit gambling and still talk as if everything is a joke?!" Sharon hissed without raising her voice. Her heart was beating fast though and the anger inside her almost made her want to aim a punch at his bloody nose herself. She did her best to keep her emotions under control and didn't even listen to what Jack said. She sat down on the other armchair for a moment and buried her face in her hands. Sharon started to realize that her ex-husband had – once again – put their children in immediate danger. She took a couple of deep breath in order to get a clear head again. She needed to be able to think. Fear for her children's life wouldn't help. More than anything, she needed to get the situation under control.

Andy and Rusty, who have stayed out of the conversation now both made their way in the living room. Rusty stood still behind the couch while Andy walked towards Sharon and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. The gesture meant more than thousand words.

 _Thank you for reading this first chapter! I hope you liked it, feel free to leave a review or wishes you might have for a storyline that involves Jack. Updates might take a little while._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so, so much for all your reviews for the first chapter. As I said, it'll keep me some time to update these days, so thank you for your patience. I'm trying to balance Sharon's sides as a mother, a cop, an ex-wife and a girlfriend which I don't find very easy, I hope you like the outcome though. I also have to admit, that I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this storyline yet, so if you have any ideas or wishes - let me know!_

While Jack, Provenza and Sykes settled down in interview one, Sharon, Rusty, Andy, Mike, Julio and Buzz stared at the monitors that recorded everything. Provenza had called everyone as soon as Sharon had reached him.

"So, Mr. Raydor, you want to start sharing with us what led to your injuries?" Amy started the interview and without hesitation, Jack responded and told Provenza and Sykes what he had reported at the condo before.  
Even though Sharon hadn't need more prove than her experience with Jack's dilemmas, him telling everything to Provenza did show her just how serious things were. Her stomach started to cramp.  
"So, then I lent money from a guy I know from the past", Jack finished his monolog.  
"For a poker game?" Provenza asked, even though it was obvious.  
"Well, yes. I was sure I would win but obviously, I didn't."  
"So you couldn't pay the money back", Amy reasoned.  
"Right. And I couldn't keep my end of the deal. Additional to the lent money I was supposed to pay thirty thousand dollars from the winnings."  
"But you didn't win", Provenza said.  
"Exactly", Jack nodded faintly. He kept avoiding eye contact with the two. Sharon could tell that he was uncomfortable and maybe even ashamed of the position he found himself in. There was no bone in her body that felt bad for him though.

"What's the name of the guy?" Sykes asked.  
"Joe Klein."

"Mike", Sharon only had to say the moment they got the name and Tao started researching Joe Klein immediately.

"What happened then?" Sykes asked.  
"Klein kept asking me about the money and when he finally realized that I didn't have it, he started threatening me. He eventually gave me a deadline – which ended today."  
"How much money are we talking about here?" Provenza asked.  
"Why is that important?"  
"Just answer the question", Amy said with a slightly louder voice.  
"Fifty-thousand dollars", Jack said so quiet, that Sharon could barely understand. She leaned back in her chair and shook her head in disbelief.  
"So, we are talking about eighty thousand dollars total?" Amy asked and Jack nodded.  
"I tried getting the money back with playing poker but –", Jack didn't finish the sentence and it became clear that he got himself in even more financial trouble.  
"So, Klein gave you a deadline which ended today. What happened then?" Provenza asked.  
"He sent three musclemen to my apartment who beat the crap out of me. Afterwards Klein called me and said, if I don't have the money within a week, next time it'll be Ricky and Emily."  
Sharon heard everything she needed to know for now. She looked at Tao and asked: "You know what to do?"  
"Sure", Tao nodded, "you also want us to organize security detail for your kids?"  
"Please, yes", Sharon nodded. She knew she could trust her team to handle the process of gathering all the details they needed to find Klein. That is why she left the room without a word and walked into her office. She closed the door behind her and called her children. Telling them that their father once again had messed things up in a terrible, terrible way broke her heart. And even though Sharon was confident that the problem would be solved within a week and that Ricky and Emily would be save, there was that constant feeling of fear for her children. Seeing Jack beaten up like that was one thing she could handle. Someone laying a hand on Rusty, Emily or Ricky? There was no way on earth she would let that happen.

She tried Ricky first because Sharon knew that he usually went to bed early. She felt like this couldn't wait though.  
"Mom?" Ricky answered his phone and his mother could tell that she had woken him up immediately.  
"Hey honey, I'm sorry to wake you", Sharon apologized.  
"What happened?" Ricky knew right away that a phone call by his mother at that time meant trouble. He was just glad that she was the one talking to him because that meant that she wasn't hurt or something worse.  
"I'm afraid your father got himself into some trouble", Sharon cut to the chase right away.  
Ricky groaned: "What is it now? Or wait, I'm not even sure I want to know."  
Sharon felt bad for bothering her son with what she was about to say: "I'm afraid you do want to know. It sort of involves you."  
"Ok?"  
"I'll make it short. Jack lent money from the wrong people and can't pay back. He was beaten up pretty bad today and apparently he got the message that if he can't pay back the money within next Friday, those guys will go after you and Emily."  
"Oh come on mom, as if. We are miles away."  
"I know. But I want you to take this seriously. By the looks of your father I don't think these are empty threats."  
Ricky swallowed. His mother seemed pretty serious about this.  
"So, what now?" he asked.  
"Now we are organizing – and do not even think about arguing about it – security for you and Emily and are trying to get Jack out of his mess. Until everything is settled, I want you to promise be to be a bit careful and to watch over your shoulder a little."  
"I'll be fine, mom", Ricky sighted.  
"I know. Regardless."  
"I promise. I'll watch my back. But I really don't think there is any need for guards, I'm only at work these days anyhow."  
"Still. You are at your place now, aren't you?"  
"Well, yes, but -"  
"No buts, Ricky. I'm not going to risk _anything._ Please just let the security make sure that you're safe."  
"Mom", Ricky sighted. Just imagining going to work with bodyguards made him cringe.  
"For me?"  
"Fine."  
"Thank you. I will keep you posted, ok?"

"Ok. I'm sorry you have to deal with this, mom."  
Now it was Sharon's turn to sight deeply. For some reason, her children always felt the need to apologize for their fathers behavior, even though they had absolutely nothing to apologize for, which she told Ricky now for what felt like the thousands time: "Ricky, you have nothing to apologize for. You are not responsible for Jack's chaos. If anyone should apologize, it's him or me, because I didn't pick a better father for you and Emily."  
"Well, we got the best mother, so what's a crappy father?!" Ricky joked. Sharon hummed and then said: "I'm gonna call your sister now. Get some rest honey, we'll talk tomorrow."  
"'Kay. Bye Mom."

Before Sharon was able to call her daughter, she had to take a couple of reassuring deep breaths. Emily always took it harder than Ricky when there were problems with Jack and she hated that she had to burden her with this too.  
"Hey mom."  
"Sweetheart, do you have a minute?" Sharon asked.  
"Sure, I'm just on my way home. Something wrong?"  
"There actually is", Sharon nodded even though Emily couldn't see.  
"What is it?"  
"Well, I got a visit from your father today."  
"Oh no", Emily sighted, "I haven't heard from him in weeks. What did he do this time?"  
"He relapsed. I'm so sorry, honey", Sharon grimaced when she heard her disappointed daughter say: "I guess it was only a matter of time until he would."  
"I'm really sorry, Emily."  
"It's not your fault, mom. But that's not all, is it?" Emily asked.  
"No, I'm afraid it isn't", Sharon answered and then told her daughter everything.  
"I can't believe it", Emily sat down on the couch in her apartment, which she had arrived at a couple of minutes before.  
"I know… I didn't exactly expect this either. But I will deal with this, all I want you to do is to stay safe, please. Even with the security guards I want you to be a little careful in the next couple of days."  
"Security guards?"  
"Yes, security. They will be with you 24/7 until we got everything under control."  
"Does Ricky have security too?" Emily asked reproachfully.  
"Yes, Ricky has security too. Please don't argue about this, I just had the discussion with your brother", Sharon sighted tiredly.  
"Fine. Mom, I'm so sorry you have to handle dads shit again", Emily gave in. Sharon cringed about Emily's choice of words but didn't mention it.  
"Emily, I told Ricky the same: you have nothing to be sorry about!"  
"But if it weren't for us you wouldn't get involved in his messes all the time."  
"You know what honey? I will gladly get involved as long as I have you and Ricky. Now, get some rest and I'll keep you updated, all right?"  
"Okay. Love you, mom."  
"I love you too."

After hanging up the phone Sharon's hands started to shake a little. She took another steadying breath but this time, it didn't help. She was a professional when it came to keeping control over her emotions and personal feelings concerning anything that had something to do with her job. But obviously, this situation was different – the wellbeing of the most important persons in her life was endangered. Anger and angst started to come to the surface. Whenever Sharon starting feeling like her family was on a good path, Jack would destroy the peace. Every. Single. Time. Sharon left her office and entered the ladies room where she turned the faucet on and let the cold water run down her wrists and hands. It was a coping mechanism she had had for decades. This time it wasn't doing enough for her so she started splashing the now ice-cold water in her face. Just then, Andy entered the room.

Without having to look up, Sharon said: "This is the ladies room."  
"There are no rules that are going to keep me away from you in times like these", Andy murmured and got a couple of fresh paper towels which she handed Sharon. She took them and slowly dried her face and hands off.  
There were so many questions Andy wanted to ask but instead, he carefully embraced Sharon, who resisted the touch at first. Andy had expected nothing else and kept holding her until he felt her capitulating and relaxing. After moments Sharon groaned and freed herself from the embrace.  
"So much for a relaxing weekend", Sharon remarked.  
"Did you reach Emily and Ricky?"  
"Yes, I did."  
"How did they react?"  
"Probably the way you would expect… I could hardly talk them into getting security detail, though."  
"I wonder where they got that from", Andy joked.  
"I just wish they were nearer", Sharon said with watery eyes.  
"I know. But right now, being as far away as possible from LA is probably not the worst thing."  
"Still", Sharon sighted and shook her head as if she wanted to get rid of the tears that way.  
"I'm a little worried about Emily. I don't know how much more of her father's mess she can take."  
"She is her mother's daughter, dear. She can handle it and even if she can't – Emily still has the best mother anyone could wish for to support her."  
Sharon raised her head and instead of saying anything, kissed Andy on the lips.

It was getting late and Sharon knew that her team couldn't work efficiently without finally getting some sleep. And since there was no immediate danger for her children and security guards were already with them, she sent everyone home for the night. So a little while later, she, Rusty, Andy and Jack were alone.  
"What now?" Rusty asked.  
"Now, we'll go home too", Sharon smiled at him weakly.  
"Jack, are you sure you don't need a doctor?" Sharon asked one more time. She could barely look at his face.  
"I'm fine."  
"All right, then you are able to get home with a taxi?"  
It was clear that Jack had something else in mind and everyone in the room knew.  
"Forget it", Sharon said therefore.  
"But my place is a mess", Jack whined.  
"You have all night to clean it up", Sharon said dryly and left the men standing where they were and got her stuff from the office. When she got out again she looked at Andy and Rusty saying: "Let's go."  
A little later the three were sitting in the car again and no one felt like talking. Sharon kept staring outside, not noticing much of what was going on around her. She was caught up in her thoughts. Andy and Rusty were mostly staying quiet because they wanted to support Sharon in every way possible and right now it was by keeping their mouth shut.

They arrived at the condo and the three dragged themselves inside with tired bones. Sharon went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.

She had been over the alcohol issue with Andy even before he had moved in.  
"If you want me to get rid of the alcohol, you only have to mention it. It's not a problem for me" Sharon had said to him back then.  
"It's not a problem for me either. I don't want to restrict you. If it becomes a problem for me, I'll say", Andy had answered her and Sharon had nodded. It had been impossible for Sharon to drink in front of Jack when they were still living together and it was unthinkable to have alcohol even near the house. That's why Sharon had to get used to drink in front of Andy but soon learned that it actually didn't bother him at all.

She turned on the kettle and without having to say a word, Andy got two cups out and threw teabags in them. When the water was boiling, Sharon poured it into the cups and moments later, Rusty, Sharon and Andy were seated in the living room.

Sharon kept checking her phone every couple of minutes. Between those checks, she seemed miles away and Rusty looked at Andy questioning. He very faintly shook his head.  
"I'm gonna head off to bed, ok?" Rusty asked a while later.  
"Of course", Sharon nodded. Rusty was almost out of sight when Sharon quickly got up: "Rusty?"  
Rusty stopped walking and turned around: "Yeah?"  
Without saying a word Sharon wrapped her arms around her youngest.  
"Sleep well, honey", she whispered before she let him go.  
Rusty nodded, unable to find reassuring words for his mom. The boy disappeared in the bathroom and Sharon stood still in the hallway.  
"Sharon?" Andy said, only to get her out of her frozen state. It worked. She turned around and sat down on the couch, right next to him. He wrapped an arm around her and she snuggled up to his side until her phone vibrated. She cringed, immediately read the message and chuckled faintly.  
"What is it?" Andy asked and Sharon showed him the message while leaning back again.  
Emily had sent her a selfie from herself with the two guards in front of her front door.  
"See, they are just fine", Andy smiled.  
"Yeah", Sharon said and though _for now.  
_ "You wanna go to bed? You look exhausted."  
"Thanks, Andy", Sharon smiled joking. Both got up though and not even half an hour later were settled in bed.  
Sharon was more or less staring at the words in her book without being capable to concentrate on a sentence while Andy was already deeply asleep. It was a skill Sharon deeply envied. It didn't happen often but there were certain things that made her completely unable to sleep while no matter what – Andy could always fall asleep. She turned the lights off and quietly got out of the bedroom. In the living room, she turned her laptop on and started researching Joe Klein. She soon found out that he was a real estate mogul and not unknown for questionable decisions but that was the same Tao had told her before. Sharon kept digging into the details of the life of the man that threatened her children and tried to figure out a way out of this situation without having to pay the money herself. until her eyes became so heavy that she felt asleep with the laptop still on her lap. Only half an hour later she was woken up by a nightmare. Sharon groaned, closed her laptop and made herself a tea. It was already 4:30 and she hadn't slept more than 30 minutes after not having much sleep the entire week – this wasn't going to be a good day. She almost finished the tea when Andy woke up and found the bedside beside him empty. He felt guilty immediately – he knew right that moment that Sharon had been up the entire time he had been sleeping. Moaning, Andy got up and found his girlfriend crumbled up in the corner of the couch.  
"Hey", he made her aware of his presence.  
"Hey", Sharon smiled, "did I wake you?"  
"No. Just missed you." Andy sat down next to her and took the laptop from her lap, closed it without a word and embraced her. Sharon just watched her boyfriend taking action, she was too tired to protest.  
"Get some sleep, dear", he whispered into her ear and kissed her on top of the head.  
"Thank you", Sharon whispered.  
"You don't have to thank me for anything."  
"Yes I do. I know it isn't easy for you when Jack appears in our lives like that either. So, thank you."  
"It's fine, Sharon", Andy whispered and kissed her on the top of her head.

Sharon hummed and let Andy's calmness ease her so that she could finally fall asleep. Andy regretted a little that he hadn't convinced her to go back to bed but he managed to get them both into a laying position without waking her up, put a blanket over both and then fell asleep himself.


End file.
